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(2 votes) 
Regulars
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I grew up learning not only from my father but using Applebaum's String Builder books, along with All For Strings. I never even looked at a Suzuki book until Thomas began with his teacher. Having started on Suzuki book 2 and now on book 7 I am beginning to realize something, although it may be a personal observation rather than fact. When I began teaching Thomas 3 years ago, I exclusively used Samuel Applebaum, along with All For Strings and I found them sooo great and meticulous. And he progressed really well. When he started Suzuki book 2 about a year and a half ago, I noticed there are very few and very limited "instructions" in each book. More like a compilation of pieces at varying levels. Suzuki is great in order to have pieces to play but to us, it seems Suzuki is more of a collection of music, increasingly more difficult as you progress whereas Applebaum is an instructional tool for those just beginning. Am I missing something that surrounds all the hype for Suzuki or are those books considered compilations rather than a method? I just do not see a method if one were to exclusively use Suzuki.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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@JimandThomas, you are not missing anything. They are two completely different methods. Suzuki is designed to be used with Suzuku trained instructors. It is pretty much a compilation of songs with a few instructions. Without any knowledge of how to play the instruments, they end put being solely a a very nice collection of songs to play.
Because you know how to play, you are able to use the Suzuki books as more than just a very good collection of songs to play, They are designed to provide songs to play along with a Suzuki trained instructor.
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Ahhhh @Mouse So the book are not thought of as instructional, more like an aide to go along with a Suzuki instructor? I am confused though. Violin teachers who do not use Suzuki use books of their choice also as an aide. I am just trying to figure out if the Suzuki method is any different than who us old schoolers were taught.
Jim(Thomases Dad)
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Suzuki is designed to be used with very young children who haven't yet learned to read. The main purpose is to enable children to start at a much earlier age than was previously possible, because Suzuki believed that the most effective way to learn music is the same way one learns a language. (Suzuki almost singlehandedly created the entire global market for violin sizes smaller than 1/4.)
Students who start at age 3 or 4 are not really expected to start learning to read music until they reach Book 3 or 4. Suzuki students learn by ear until they are old enough to learn to read, and there are recordings available to help with learning the music. So I assume the reason for the lack of instructions was simply that there isn't much point in printing instructions that the student is unlikely to be able to read. The technical instruction is left entirely to the teacher.
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What makes Suzuki a method and not just a compilation is that every piece in the Suzuki books is intended to teach or develop a particular aspect of technique in a specific order, and each one builds on everything that came before it in the sequence. In that sense, it operates very similarly to other methods; the only difference is that the technique being taught is not expressly stated in the books. I assume the details are part of Suzuki teacher training. But at least in the first several books, a good teacher should have no trouble figuring out what technique is being taught in each piece, even without prior experience teaching from the Suzuki books.
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